Sad news for Bradford bulls: He we not return

Bradford Bulls’ manager reveals he envisions Billy Jowitt as full back.

Billy Jowitt of the Bradford Bulls is only 22 years old, yet his rugby league career has been filled with more drama than many seasoned veterans.

A fractured arm here, a dislocated shoulder there, not to mention leg ailments, a stint as the dreaded 18th man, and more positions than a Strictly Come Dancing salsa, Jowitt has had quite the ride since his first-team debut under John Kear three years ago.
However, he may have received his big break this season, although in unexpected ways.Tom Holmes was widely regarded as the Bulls’ greatest player in 2023, thriving at fullback despite initially signing to play in the halves.

However, he is presently getting treatment after discovering earlier this month that he has a rare type of cancer.

Understandably, no return date has been established for the popular 27-year-old, and the only thing that matters for now is that he recovers entirely.

Back on the field, however, it leaves a potentially exciting duel between Jowitt and fellow young prospect Aidan McGowan to be the Bulls’ starting fullback for the next few months, with both displaying considerablethere during the impressive 34-8 home win over a young Leeds Rhinos side on Sunday.

While Jowitt has proven to be a fine halfback or hooker in recent years, new Bulls head coach Eamon O’Carroll has a specific position in mind for the 22-year-old.

After the Rhinos triumph, the former Catalans Dragons assistant coach told the T&A: “Billy has usually played and trained at full back, therefore we expect him to play there.

“He’s competent in a variety of jobs and provides utility value, therefore he creates rivalry for positions.

“That doesn’t mean he won’t start against Dewsbury next week; I haven’t made a judgment on that.

“But it’s fantastic to have that rivalry between two strong players, Aidan and Billy in what is an important position.

Jowitt will have a challenge on his hands when it comes to McGowan, with the on-loan Huddersfield Giants youngster claiming some great takes under pressure against Leeds, as well as scoring the third of Bulls’ six tries in the victory.

McGowan went over just moments after Eribe Doro had crossed the line, while Jayden Myers and Mitch Souter repeated that trick after the break with two tries in three minutes.

Bulls seemed buoyed by the crowd in those moments, and it is not the first time we have seen a fired-up side go back-to-back at Odsal, with that memorable 22-8 play-off eliminator win over York back in October seeing Bradford score three tries in 10 minutes.

Asked about that repeated ability to put on a clutch of points in a short space of time, O’Carroll said: “The players just value the little areas in terms of supporting each other and running hard.

“We got something out of that but those tries weren’t necessarily because we’d just scored one beforehand.

“They were more off the back of being detailed in what we did, executing the play, and getting something from it in terms of points.

“It’s always nice to go back-to-back, but when we look at it as coaches, it was more how we put ourselves in those positions that was the most pleasing.”

Racking up the points and scoring those well-worked tries against Leeds should boost Bulls heading into their first competitive game this coming weekend in the 1895 Cup, away to a Dewsbury Rams side who are already on the brink of a group-stage exit after being thumped 35-6 by Keighley Cougars in their tournament opener on Sunday.

Having now completed the pre-season friendly programme, is O’Carroll happy with how his Bulls team have progressed since the Halifax game on Christmas Eve to now?

He said: “I’m probably happier this week than I was last week when we didn’t play, and I have seen incremental improvements from us throughout our performances.

“A lot clicked for us today but that doesn’t mean we’re home and dry by any stretch of the imagination.

“I spoke to the players after today’s game and said the challenge for this group now is for us to back this up.

“We’ll see, and that starts on Tuesday in training, it won’t just happen on Sunday on gameday.

“We’re going to be playing a tough team in a tough competition and while we approached Leeds as if it was our first competitive game, next week is actually our first competitive one, so it will probably have a different feel about.

“Our attitude and attention to detail is going to be key, and that starts from Tuesday.”